“Katherine Craven’s 20-year track record in government and higher education, and her highly regarded approach to team building and community engagement, makes her an exceptional fit to lead our administrative and business operations during this critical time,” Babson President Kerry Healey said in a statement.

Craven will leave her role as executive director of the UMass Building Authority and assistant vice president for capital finance for the University of Massachusetts.

“Katherine has provided outstanding leadership of the UMass Building Authority, helping to create and oversee a $3.8 billion, five-year capital plan that will allow us to continue the dramatic physical transformation of our five campuses,” UMass president Robert L. Caret said in a statement. “Her stewardship has brought impressive credit ratings and strong demand for UMass bonds that have allowed us to maintain the momentum created in recent years and that provide our students faculty and staff with facilities that enable them to achieve at the highest level.”

Philip W. Johnston, a member of the UMass Board of Trustees and chairman of the UMass Building Authority, praised Craven’s work at UMass.

“Katherine has been a tremendous leader of the UMass Building Authority who brought impeccable credentials to the position and whose knowledge of construction financing has served the university incredibly well,” he said. “She leaves an indelible mark on UMass.”